The invention relates to a new device and method of validating and testing In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems using only a small percentage of the IFE seat end units for the testing.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known architecture for a modern IFE system that is generally composed of three different types of units: 1) head end units 10 encompassing content server units 50 (which hold media data, such as movie files, song files, and entertainment data, such as games, maps, etc., collectively referred to herein as “media content”) and aircraft interface units 40 that receives information from the aircraft, such as position during a flight and deals with passenger announcements that typically interrupt the IFE during flight, as well as a stewardess call button or request to turn on a reading light; 2) distribution units 20, mainly composed of network distribution units 60, that are used to build the IFE network 35 topology and segregate the network traffic between the head end units 10 and seat end units 30; and 3) seat end units 30 that are generally composed of a passenger display unit 70 and a passenger control unit 70 per seat. Some of these units are comprised by “line replaceable units” (LRUs) which means that they are packaged in a housing in a predefined configuration that enables them to be rapidly installed and replaced in an aircraft.
The total number of units comprising an IFE System can reach several thousands for some wide body airplanes, where the head end units 10 represent approximately 1% of the total number of units, the distribution units 20 represent approximately 1% of the total number of units and the seat end units 30 represent approximately 98% of the total number of units.
The current testing methodology widely used in the IFE industry requires building labs that are representative of the final configuration in the airplane. As a consequence, all of the airplane units are usually assembled in a lab for testing purposes before the final installation in the airplane.
There are two primary disadvantages with the current IFE testing methodology: costs related to the airplane unit's mobilization in the labs during the testing phase, and the late (in the delivery cycle) availability of IFE units for testing purposes.
Costs related to the airplane unit's mobilization in the labs during the testing phase can be divided into three different categories: cash advance, unit rework costs, and facility resource usage. In order to set up a lab representative of the final airplane configuration, the IFE company usually has to build all of the IFE units of a ship set, often several months before the final delivery to the airline. This represents a substantial cash advance and labor intensive activity that can impact the IFE company's financial results.
During the testing phase in the lab, some of the units are inevitably damaged and then have to be reworked before installation in the airplane. This rework includes new parts and additional labor that can have an impact on the IFE company's financial results. Furthermore, during this phase, substantial facility resources like space, power, and cooling are required to operate the lab. In some circumstances, the delivery to an additional customer may require a building extension that can impact the IFE company's financial results.
Late availability of the IFE units is another disadvantage of the current IFE testing methodology. The system-level testing (or full scale testing) of the IFE components can only be performed when the lab is assembled and fully functional. This occurs usually at a late stage during the overall development process and often delays the discovery of major issues not identified during IFE component unit tests.
Although the cost of the present method of testing could be reduced by postponing the assembly of the lab, this is counterbalanced by the fact that the risk of late discovery of major issues could be reduced by an earlier assembly of the lab. Thus, the current methodology represent an antinomy, since minimizing the effect of one disadvantage will increase the effect of the other disadvantage. The costs related to the airplane unit's mobilization in the labs could be reduced by postponing the assembly of the lab, but having the IFE units available later in the testing phase would introduce additional risk at the final stage of the program. Having the IFE units available earlier during the testing phase would help reduce the risk of discovering major issues close to the customer delivery, but would introduce additional costs due to the unit's mobilization for an extended period of time.